The team behind Ellory in Hackney have shut up shop and moved down the road to Shoreditch to open Leroy. Located opposite the much underrated Oklava, the wine bar and restaurant is a much welcome addition to the area tucked behind Great Eastern Street. Dishes on the menu include whipped cods roe and crisps, quail skewers and ricotta dumplings with peas and artichokes. All washed down with 2011 Sangiovese.

The Dumbwaiter is always impressed with Merlin Labron-Johnson's cooking and last night’s collaborative dinner with CUB was so no exception. A selection of delicately presented small plates were complemented by a range of delicious and interesting cocktails by My Lyan himself. The Dumbwaiter particularly enjoyed a taramasalata of cods roe, grelot and chervil and a cocktail of rose vermouth, colombo and fugu. Wonderful all round.

Where better for an overdue reunion with food friends than the wood-panelled haven of the Marksman? After a couple of pints of Brick Lane lager and all the snacks on the menu (special shout out, of course, to the incredible beef and barley bun), The Dumbwaiter tucked into artichoke with almond and lemon before the best piece of cod to have been set down in front of him, accompanied by baby courgette and fried potato on the side.

The Dumbwaiter was tucked away mid-week in the PDR at Sophie’s Soho for a celebration of master butchers Philip & Ian Warren. The Infernillo fire pit – inspired by Argentinian tour de force Francis Mallmann - provides quite the centrepiece for the dining room. Both the steaks and the martinis were as delicious as they were large – quality and quantity in equal measure.

Camden’s upmarket fish & chip joint, Hook, has been through a major refurb since The Dumbwaiter was last in Town. Fish & chips were still the order of the day for most (the lemon and basil in tempura batter is up there with the best), but it was the new small plates and main dishes that caught The Dumbwaiter’s eye. Both the monkfish carpaccio with a delicious cauliflower puree and the whole seabass packed with the flavours of the Far East could happily sit on the menu any of London’s top neighbourhood restaurants. This is by no means your average chippy.